“Say It in a Tweet, That's a Cop-Out” Problematizing the Journalistic Practice of Using Tweets as Public Opinion through an Exploration of Taylor Swift's “You Need to Calm Down”

Citation

Avdeeff M (2025) “Say It in a Tweet, That's a Cop-Out” Problematizing the Journalistic Practice of Using Tweets as Public Opinion through an Exploration of Taylor Swift's “You Need to Calm Down”. In: Bentley CA, Galloway K & Harper PC (eds.) Taylor Swift: The Star, The Songs, The Fans. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003299646-17/say-tweet-cop-melissa-avdeeff?context=ubx&refId=d2689c5c-09a8-4a05-9c31-be250023e762

Abstract
In an analysis of over 20,000 Tweets from the #YouNeedToCalmDown hashtag, Avdeeff examines the Twitter 1 discourse surrounding the “You Need to Calm Down” music video, the wider themes embedded into that video, and Swift's cultural meaning. These findings are contrasted with the journalistic response to the video, particularly articles that incorporate tweets to construct desired narratives. This chapter outlines the ways in which many mainstream press outlets engaged in a politicization and critique of Swift's LGBTQ+ allyship, incorporating tweets to evidence and support accusations of queerbaiting, pinkwashing, and performative wokeness. The use of tweets as vox populi in music journalism implies a documentation of majority sentiment, but an analysis of the tweets finds that these perspectives are largely in the minority. This reporting strategy has potentially significant ramifications in how meaning circulates within society. Avdeeff concludes that to disproportionately promote controversy as public sentiment runs the risk of further dividing cultural and political groups, and amplifying conflict.